1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic devices, and more particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved printed circuit board and method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The present invention is directed to a printed circuit board for an electrical assembly, and is particularly useful for a relay module used in motor vehicles. The module is comprised of a carrier plate cast which is formed partly of plastic and interconnects connected thereto that are formed by at least one pressed screen. Electrical and electromechanical components such as relays plugged into the printed circuit board are electrically connected via the interconnects. The carrier plate comprises spacings that are located directly next to contact tabs which are bent out of the plane of the pressed screen for plug-in fastening of electrical components by insertion. The invention is also directed to a method for the manufacture of such a printed circuit board and to an arrangement of a printed circuit board on a plug-in base.
A pluggable assembly having a printed circuit board which is formed partly of plastic into which interconnects fashioned as pressed screens are embedded is disclosed by DE 43 23 827 C1. In this reference, components electrically connected via interconnects are secured on the printed circuit board. The components are inserted into through openings directly next to the contact tabs which are bent out of the plane of the pressed screen. The manufacturing method for the printed circuit board becomes complicated due to the fact that the production of the printed circuit board is performed by extrusion-coating of the pressed screen in a plurality of successive work steps, which is only economically feasible for large batches.
DE 27 35 124 A1 discloses a method for the manufacture of an electrical circuit as well as a circuit board in which the sheet metal blank corresponding to the circuit arrangement is first produced by punching from conductive material and this is subsequently molded into an insulating plastic compound. When molding the pressed screen into the plastic compound, recesses in the plastic compound are provided at both sides for separating the connecting webs. The connecting webs are separated following the molding of the pressed screen into the plastic compound. One shortcoming of this approach is that the leads of the electrical components must be soldered on. This is contrary to the desire for solder-free connections in electrical circuits with components containing contact surfaces. Furthermore, the manufacturing method is highly technical and requires that the necessary manufacturing tolerances for recesses and clearances be taken into consideration.
DE 89 12 914 U1 discloses a conductor arrangement of punched interconnects, whereby additional interconnects that realize complex circuit structures are applied onto the conductor carrier by a hot-coining process. The interconnects are thereby soldered to one another and to the components so that the structure of the coined interconnects is not damaged by welding. For accommodating at least two relays and customized wiring, the structuring of such a conductor arrangement requires many discrete parts and can therefore not be fabricated economically. Furthermore, this process cannot be performed in an automated fashion.
One goal of the present invention is to provide the automated manufacture of a printed circuit board for electrical circuits that is economical and which can be achieved with the simplest possible tools and additional equipment. For example, relays and a printed circuit board containing the customized interconnection can be accommodated in a housing under the condition of being able to operate the circuit with extremely high load currents.